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Penguin Great Ideas : Why I Write [Paperback]

George Orwell
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Book Description

2 Sep 2004 014101900X 978-0141019000 Rev Ed

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

Whether puncturing the lies of politicians, wittily dissecting the English character or telling unpalatable truths about war, Orwell's timeless, uncompromising essays are more relevant, entertaining and essential than ever in today's era of spin.


Frequently Bought Together

Penguin Great Ideas : Why I Write + Books v. Cigarettes (Penguin Great Ideas) + Decline of the English Murder (Penguin Great Ideas)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; Rev Ed edition (2 Sep 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 014101900X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141019000
  • Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 11.1 x 18.1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 7,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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Product Description

About the Author

GEORGE ORWELL (born Eric Arthur Blair) was born in India in 1903, but moved to England in 1907 and in 1917 entered Eton, where he began writing. He worked widely in journalism but fame came in 1945 with the publication of ANIMAL FARM.

Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Thankyou for writing what You wrote. 19 Oct 2010
By Vickie
Format:Paperback
I bought this collection of essays to widen my knowledge of Orwell's intent behind his novels, and what I found was an assortment of concise works which give a unique twang to several political arguments. The initial essay delved into the difference between Fascism and Socialism, of which Orwell fervently believes, should be made aware to everyone. The context of these essays, written mid world war two are still undeniably relevant to the modern reader, despite the fact the threat of Fascism is no longer a major concern. `On Hanging' is a reflection of Orwell's time in Burma, witnessing a man take his last steps- and it provokes the argument at why we end a life of someone who is functioning perfectly, who has the concern of stepping round puddles on the way to the noose. The final essay is a quirky little number, displaying the decline of the English Language. Orwell delves into how many political phrases are simply meaningless metaphors, how foreign anecdotes illustrate ambiguity, and how embellished statements cover up the true, direct meaning of language. Read this petite bright idea, it gives the reader such an insight to why the man wrote what he wrote.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Eileen Shaw TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
The very natural wish for revenge after the war is considered against the reality of how most people just felt relief that it was over. Orwell did not write about the reparations demanded from Germany and the effect of the partition of Berlin (or if he did it is not recorded here), which is something of a disappointment. He wrote about the "Atom Bomb" as it was called back then, and this essay is illuminating only on the notion of what are "good" weapons (those of the medieval age, that anyone could use) and "bad" weapons - tanks and the bomb which are expensive as well as conducive to control by cold war.

Orwell's writing about literature, when not in a political vein, is instructive. He loves the stories of Jack London and mourns their popularity, while admitting they are extremely variable in tone. The problem with these stories is their extreme cruelty - indeed London's Iron Heel predicts the rise of fascism. His greatest works have the theme of the cruelty of nature.

In his essay on The Prevention of Literature Orwell is most exercised by the distortion and suppression caused by Communists and `fellow-travellers'. "There can be no question," he says, "About the poisonous effect of the Russian mythos on English intellectual life. The kind of distortion he has in mind take in situations such as that which found "...very large numbers of Soviet Russians - mostly, no doubt, from non-political motives - had changed sides and were fighting for the Germans. Also a small but not negligible proportion of the Russian prisoners and Displaced Persons refused to go back to the USSR, and some of them were repatriated against their will.
... Read more ›
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A very English idealism 13 Mar 2008
By M. Harrison TOP 500 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
You don't have to be a socialist to enjoy this little collection of Orwell essays. You just have to enjoy simple but bitingly precise use of the English language, and hold a forlorn affection for the English themselves. 'England is.. a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and the silly,' says Orwell. And then adds, 'But in any calculation about it one has got to take into account its emotional unity..'

It is Orwell's combination of a sentimental attachment to the ordinary Englishman who doesn't hesitate in the face of Fascism, and a withering dismissal of English anti-intellectualism, that makes this book so beguiling. It feels remarkably contemporary as he observes 'England is perhaps the only great country whose intellectuals are ashamed of their own nationality.' And touchingly prescient as he predicts in 1940 that 'in whatever shape England emerges from the war..the gentleness, hypocrisy, the thoughtlessness, the reverence for law and the hatred of uniforms will remain, along with the suet puddings and the misty skies.'

Towards the end he gets a little bogged down in his manifesto for change - and his belief in nationalisation now seems quaint. But the book returns to form at the end with a coruscating attack on the misuse of English.

Poor a slightly warm beer, look out over some interlocking hills, and enjoy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars With hindsight Orwell was ahead of all the rest. 10 Nov 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Reading Orwell's essay today is a real eye opener. If you overlay the known outcomes and political scenarios onto the book Orwell was bang on the money. A fascinating document of its day; no less readable today. I may be biased as my favourite book in Burmese Days but he does write extraordinarily well . I never tire of his precise insightful observations.
The description of a hanging in Burma, a shorter piece within the book, shows Orwell's innate humanity. A modest cover price seals the deal, buy this book - you won't be disappointed.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Cracking collection of essays 25 Jun 2012
Format:Paperback
I love George Orwell. He gives it to you straight. Here are a few quotes from this fine little collection of his essays, several of which I have read and enjoyed many times before:

On patriotism: "Patriotism has nothing do with Conservatism. It is actually the opposite of Conservatism, since it is a devotion to something that is always changing and yet is felt to be mystically the same. It is the bridge between the future and the past."

On nationalism: "One must admit that the divisions between nation and nation are founded on real differences of outlook. Until recently it was thought proper to pretend that all human beings are very much alike, but in fact anyone able to use his eyes knows that the average of human behaviour differs enormously from country to country."

On class: "England is the most class-ridden country under the sun. It is a land of snobbery and privilege, ruled largely by the old and silly."

And on England: "A family with the wrong members in control - that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase."
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